Mirrors for the redirection of light find applications in a great many functions including card readers, displays among others. The miniaturization of many functions and their increasing complexity places space and frequency response demands on such mirror systems. The uses for such mirrors demands that they be capable of two axis motion with pointing angles under computer control. Furthermore high speed operation is increasingly in demand.
Systems of today typically use bulky mechanical designs filling a significant volume or are only capable of mirror motion about one axis.
The present invention takes advantage of the miniaturization and cost advantages of micromachining to produce scanning mirror systems in planar silicon arrays on wafers with large scan angles, high frequency responses and thus fast scanning rates. The advantages of high efficiency production are also available through this fabrication technique.
The invention supports a mirrored silicon surface from one or more support arms attached to a frame of silicon, all of the same wafer. The support has regions with depositions that provide bender or piezoelectric morph functions when energized with a voltage. Intermediate platforms or junction points allow the supports to be a combination of several arms, some having morph functions and others not. This provides an amplification or leverage function to the bending action of each morph, achieving very large scan angles per applied volt. The small size, relative rigidity of silicon allow high resonant frequencies and thus fast response times. The flexibility of micromachining allows multi axis mirror motion and computer control. Using combinations of arm segments of morph and neutral functions a wide range of functions can be achieved in a final product.
Large scale wafer fabrication techniques allow many scanning systems to be made on a single wafer for further efficiencies in the production of the scanners. The use of a DC voltage for the scanner reduces vibration effects.